Chevron Reversal Could Impact EPA Clean Air Rules

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the federal agencies likely to be most impacted by the recent Supreme Court decision that reversed the Chevron deference is the Environmental Protection Agency, which was the one responsible for the original case decision in 1984.

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper says it’s still too early to tell exactly what the reversal could mean for the ethanol industry, but EPA’s tailpipe emissions standards are a good example of why the case was brought in the first place.

“We were arguing long before this Supreme Court decision that EPA stepped over its bounds by a long shot and grossly exceeded its authority with these tailpipe standards,” said Cooper. “There’s no law on the books anywhere from Congress that directs EPA to use tailpipe emission standards to effectively create a mandate for electric vehicles….So we do think that that’s one particular regulation that that is likely to come under fire, given this new decision from the Supreme Court.”

Cooper says the ruling means “Congress needs to be far more prescriptive and and far more detailed and far more thorough in the legislation that they hand over to to the agency” but failing that, the courts still have the final say about the intentions of the law. “Any challenges to Clean Air Act programs, including the RFS, must go through the DC Circuit Court of Appeals….which historically has been pretty deferential and and respectful of EPA’s decision making process and EPA’s expertise,” said Cooper. “And so we’ll see if that continues or exactly how this is going to go moving forward.”

Listen to Cooper’s comments from a recent interview here.
RFA's Cooper comments on Chevron reversal 3:16

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Agency Seeks Tech to Lower Emissions for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The Energy Department is looking for ways to cut the carbon intensity of ethanol production in half by lowering use of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on crops, and they are putting up $36 million to develop the technologies to do that.

DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced the funding in the effort to lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 50% from the cultivation of corn and sorghum used for United States ethanol production.

The Technologies to Emend and Obviate SYnthetic Nitrogen’s Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program will emphasize strategies that lower the application of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on corn and sorghum fields. Lowering the application of synthetic N fertilizer would reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as significantly lower farmers’ operating costs while maintaining crop yields.

There are various categories of projects under the funding opportunity that are designed to work toward:

Reduce imports of foreign synthetic N fertilizer by reducing the N fertilizer usage in U.S. agriculture;
Improve efficiency by saving billions in operational cost for U.S. farmers, and reduce carbon intensity for ethanol and ethanol-derived sustainable aviation fuel (SAF); and
Lower emissions of CO2 generated during N fertilizer production and N2O after N fertilizer application.

According to the ARPA-E Exchange the “Concept Paper Submission Deadline” is August 13, 2024 while the “Full Application Submission Deadline” is TBD.

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Ethanol Report on California and E15

Cindy Zimmerman

It has been nearly 15 years since the Environmental Protection Agency approved the sale of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) for 2001 model year cars and older, and nearly every state in the nation now sells it, often at a discount to regular gasoline. The only state that bans the sale of E15 is California, despite the fact that the Golden State sells more E85 than any other state, and suffers from the highest gas prices in the country.

The Renewable Fuels Association just released a new study, conducted by economists at UC Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy, that found California drivers could expect to save 20 cents per gallon if the state allowed sales of E15 – and the potential savings for California consumers could reach $2.7 billion a year.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman explains the results of the study, and RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper talks about how they are continuing to work with California regulators to help them meet air quality standards and save consumers money at the same time.

Ethanol Report 7-12-24 25:16

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

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Study Shows E15 Could Save California Drivers

Cindy Zimmerman

According to a new study by economists at UC Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy and sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association, California drivers could save up to 20 cents per gallon if the state allowed gas stations to sell 15% ethanol blended fuel or E15.

The potential savings for California consumers could reach $2.7 billion annually, according to the study authored by David Zilberman, PhD, a distinguished professor in the Agricultural and Resources Economics Department at UC Berkeley, and Scott Kaplan, PhD, assistant professor in the Economics Department at the United States Naval Academy.

“Consumers have the potential to gain significantly from the introduction and purchase of E15,” according to the study. “In particular, our estimates suggest an approximately 20 cents per gallon discount for E15 compared with E10 after adjusting for energy content.” The authors also highlighted the benefit of E15’s lower carbon emissions. “In California, price savings for lower GHG intensity fuels are larger, likely due to California-specific policies incentivizing low carbon fuels.”

California is currently the only state that sells E10 and E85, but not E15. State regulators are considering approval of E15 after extensive vehicle testing showed the fuel offers important emissions benefits. E15 is federally approved for use in all cars, pickups, SUVs and vans manufactured in the last 24 years.

“Based on this study’s results, a typical California household could save $200 per year on their gas bill if state regulators would simply allow drivers to fuel up on E15,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, noting that more than 24 million registered vehicles in California are already approved to use E15, but stations are not allowed to sell it. “It’s time for California to catch up to the other 49 states that already allow consumers to choose lower-cost, lower-carbon E15. The state’s failure to approve the use of E15 essentially amounts to a gas price hike at a time when hardworking Californians can least afford it.”

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Scientists Urge Court to Reject Land Use Claims

Cindy Zimmerman

Eight of the nation’s leading experts in agricultural economics and biofuels lifecycle analysis are urging the D.C. Circuit Court to reject claims made by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in its lawsuit challenging EPA’s 2023-2025 Renewable Fuel Standard volumes.

In its challenge to EPA’s so-called “RFS set rule,” CBD relied on debunked studies by University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler Lark, and others, to wrongly suggest the RFS has caused habitat loss and conversion of grasslands into cropland. In their detailed amicus brief submitted last week, eight scientists informed the court that the Lark studies and CBD’s claims are “divorced from scientific evidence and reality” and “based on outdated, flawed, and disproven research.” They pointed out that “there is simply no valid scientific evidence behind claims that RFS-driven demand for ethanol production leads to the conversion of grasslands not previously farmed.”

“Neither biofuel production nor the RFS has been scientifically linked to the conversion of ‘natural’ lands, such as native prairies, forests, and wetlands, to crop production,” the researchers said in the brief.

They also noted ethanol producers are on a pathway to net zero lifecycle emissions. “Members of the Renewable Fuels Association have announced a commitment to further reduce the carbon intensity of corn ethanol, aiming to achieve a 70-percent reduction compared to petroleum gasoline by 2030 and net neutral status by 2050,” according to the brief.

“As we pointed out last week, the walls are closing in around the Center for Biological Diversity, Tyler Lark, the National Wildlife Federation, and other anti-biofuel activists who perpetuate the ridiculous land use change myth,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “In his newest work, even Lark is now admitting that U.S. cropland continued to shrink as biofuels production expanded.”

EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Indirect Land Use, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

U.S. Ethanol and DDGS Exports Strong in May

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. exports of both ethanol and the co-product dried distillers grains were strong during the month of May, according to the latest analysis from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

Ethanol exports actually hit their highest level ever for the month of May at 154.4 million gallons (mg), but this was 28% decline from a near-record in April.

Canada was the largest importer for the 38th consecutive month, despite a 4% decrease to 59.7 mg. The Philippines imported the largest monthly volume since October 2018 with an 82% jump to 16.0 mg. Exports also expanded to the European Union (14.2 mg, +3%), South Korea (13.0 mg, +8% to a 15-month high) and Singapore (9.1 mg, +452%). The remaining fifth of U.S. ethanol exports landed in the United Kingdom, Colombia, Brazil (for the second consecutive month), Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, and Jamaica. Year-to-date U.S. ethanol exports totaled 816.9 mg, up 43% from the same period last year.

U.S. exports of dried distillers grains (DDGS) were yo 4% to 1.01 million metric tons (mt) on mixed markets.

Shipments to Mexico declined by 15% to 198,438 mt, yet volumes were sufficiently strong to remain our top DDGS customer for the fifth straight month. Exports also decreased to South Korea (114,029 mt, -8%), Indonesia (84,884 mt, -33%), Vietnam (78,183 mt, -22%), Canada (55,799 mt, -8%), and Turkey (35,807 mt, -0.3%). Offsetting these reductions was a sizeable export expansion to the European Union (108,420 mt, +128% to a 28-month high), Colombia (40,035 mt, +89%), and China (39,962 mt, +99% to a 28-month high). The remaining quarter of U.S. DDGS shipments were spread across 30 countries. Year-to-date DDGS exports reached 4.93 million mt, up 18% compared to the previous year.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Members of Congress Oppose Heavy Duty EV Mandate

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 150 members of both houses of Congress joined Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan demanding that the Biden administration end its de facto EV mandate on trucks, tractors, buses, and semis.

“The Biden administration’s mandate that impacts all trucks, tractors, buses, and semis would strain our supply chains, hurt our farmers, harm our economy, and increase costs for every single American. On top of inflation, poor economic conditions, and other regulations, this de facto EV mandate on our truckers, manufacturers, farmers, and dealers will hike the cost of groceries, utility bills, and everyday goods that American families rely on. It’s also a deliberate attack on liquid fuels – including homegrown Iowa biofuels – that are vital to our energy, economic, and national security,” said Rep. Feenstra.

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw commented, “As this rule ignores cost-effective emission reductions, like biodiesel, in favor of a federal mandate for technology that is either unproven or nonexistent in this space, IRFA members applaud Rep. Feenstra for leading this effort. Nearly everything Americans touch and taste on a daily basis has spent time on a truck. We cannot afford to mess that up.”

Biodiesel, EPA

RFA CEO: Lark Changes Tune on Land Use Change

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper

Blog post by Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO

In early 2022, University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler Lark published a study claiming that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “seminatural areas” to cropland in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and growth in ethanol production.

The study was accompanied by a well-funded, well-orchestrated public relations blitz that resulted in dozens of news articles and editorials, widespread radio and TV coverage, and echo-chambering on blogs and social media channels. Even though the study’s methods and findings were roundly criticized and swiftly rebuked by the scientific community, the massive PR push behind the study unfortunately succeeded in spreading the “land use change” myth far and wide.

Two years later (March 2024), Lark published another study on land use change. Only this time there was no big publicity campaign. No interviews on NPR, no pithy feature story on Fox News or HBO talk shows, no social media blasts, no TIME magazine pieces, no National Wildlife Federation press conferences, no congressional staff briefings (those are all things that really happened after the 2022 study). In fact, the newest Lark study made about as much noise as a tree falling in the woods.

Why? What changed? How come there wasn’t a massive PR effort around the new land use study?

Put simply: the results of the new Lark paper don’t fit the doomsday narrative that was carefully crafted by media-savvy PR firms following the release of 2022 study. Indeed, the new Lark study actually contradicts and undermines his study that made headlines two years ago. That’s why they’re keeping it quiet.

Read more from RFA.

corn, Ethanol, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

SAF Roundtable in Vancouver

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA’s Ed Hubbard (right front) listens to USDA Undersecretary Alexis Taylor (left, middle) in Vancouver

Representatives of the U.S. biofuels industry, including Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ed Hubbard, joined a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy roundtable in Vancouver, Canada recently on the sidelines of a USDA agribusiness trade mission.

The U.S. Grains Council and Advanced Biofuels Canada hosted the roundtable that included remarks from USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and meetings to better understand how the U.S. can support Canada’s potentially significant increase in ethanol demand over the next several years.

Canada is the largest export market for U.S. ethanol, purchasing 603.9 million gallons worth $1.7 billion in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 and has purchased 434.3 million gallons so far in MY 2023/2024. The Canadian government is attempting to reduce the carbon footprint of its transportation sector and estimates that its ethanol consumption could increase by 185 million gallons by 2030. Currently, the country has a national five percent blend mandate, but most of its provinces have mandated even higher blends.

“In addition to Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ground transportation, the Government of British Columbia has mandated airplane fuel suppliers to blend their fuel with one percent SAF by 2028 and three percent SAF by 2030,” said Cary Sifferath, USGC vice president. “The SAF mandate is an opportunity for U.S. producers to capitalize on their existing ethanol market share and help Canada meet its SAF demand, and the Council hopes that the mandate serves as an example for other Canadian provinces and countries worldwide to follow and further reduce their carbon emissions.”

aviation biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, SAF, USGC

Corn Growers File CAFE Standards Challenge

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) joined the Texas Corn Producers Association (TCPA) and other groups in filing another lawsuit last week, this one challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for model year 2027-2032 passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

The CAFE rule mandates stringent new standards that appear designed to phase out liquid fuel-powered vehicles. Today’s filing follows two recent lawsuits led by NCGA, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Petroleum Institute and auto dealerships challenging the EPA’s light-duty and heavy-duty vehicle rulemakings.

“Once again, we have a federal agency trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution on the American consumer through the final NHTSA CAFE rule and fuel efficiency standard, which favors electric vehicles,” said Minnesota farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle. “Because ethanol effectively lowers greenhouse gas emissions and combats climate change, it accounts for one-third of corn growers’ demand. We are concerned that NHTSA could be putting the country on the path to eliminating this demand, which would be a major financial blow to corn growers.”

Joining NCGA and Texas Corn are the American Petroleum Institute, American Farm Bureau Federation, Texas Farm Bureau and a group of six auto dealers representing sixteen brands.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News